Nn Questions Refuse On Museum Property

Resident Plans Fight If Land Is Developed

NEWPORT NEWS — The Mariners' Museum will be asked to clean up refuse on museum property that borders Gatewood Road, according to an official of the city's Department of Codes Compliance.

Department inspectors were given a tour of the property Friday morning by Rose Prillaman, who lives across Gatewood Road from the entrance to the property. Prillaman is upset the museum is negotiating to lease part of the property to retirement facility developers and is planning to lead a protest against any development.

Inspectors found a mixture of concrete, tree stumps, pipes and other refuse on the property, said Charles W. Alexander, assistant director of the department.

"We are in the process of pursuing what may be violations," Alexander said. A section of the city code prohibits accumulating refuse on property, with the exception of landfills, he said.

The land is located between Lake Maury and the CSX railroad tracks. It stretches from Gatewood Road to J. Clyde Morris Boulevard.

Alexander will have inspectors contact museum officials and take them to the areas in question next week, he said. Inspectors will then determine a reasonable amount of time to have the refuse removed, he said.

The maximum penalty for violations of the refuse code, a misdemeanor, is a $250 fine, Alexander said.

Museum officials were not available for comment Friday afternoon.

The museum is negotiating with an investment group to lease an undisclosed amount of museum property for a retirement community, according to Thomas N. Hunnicutt III, president of the museum board of directors.

Sources had said the facility would be operated by Nashville-based American Retirement Corp., which operates Williamsburg Landing, a James City County retirement community. Paul B. Heffner, president and chairman of the board of Williamsburg Landing, said the retirement community is not participating in the lease negotiations.

Prillaman is upset that the museum is negotiating to lease the land on Gatewood Road to a retirement facility developer.

The entrance to the wooded land is across Gatewood from Prillaman's home, where she has lived for 29 years. Her husband's father, her husband, her son, and her grandson have lived almost all their lives on Gatewood Road, she said. "Four generations have been living here in this area and have grown up enjoying the museum," she said.

If a retirement facility is built across the street, it will destroy the nature of the neighborhood, she said.

When asked what she plans to do about it, Prillaman said: "Anything and everything we can. I'm going to fight this as hard as I can."

Income from the lease of more land would allow the museum to carry out improvement plans for the 550-acre park around the museum, Hunnicutt has said.

"We have exciting plans for the park. The lease would provide the income for what we're going to do in the park," Hunnicutt said.

Prillaman said that is not reason enough to satisfy her for building on the property.

"I always say if you can't afford something, don't do it," she said.

Since 7:30 Thursday morning, when she read in the Daily Press of the museum's plans for the land, Prillaman has called neighbors to organize a picket of the museum on Monday morning; worked with two other neighbors to pass out about 400 fliers through the neighborhood; called the newspaper and local television stations; and contacted Newport News City Manager Edgar Maroney.

Maroney was not available for comment Friday afternoon.

"Everybody's saying the same thing" about the museum land, she said: "`Leave it alone.,'"